Wednesday 5 July 2017

The man who drew the short straw

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him…’ John 9:2-3

This is often called the story of “the man born blind.” Fair enough. But could it also be called the story of “the man who drew the short straw”? Bear  with me for a moment…

The disciples see this unfortunate beggar, and they immediately jump to a conclusion: for him to be like this somebody must have sinned. And who could that somebody be, if not either his parents, or he himself while still in the womb? It stands to reason.

But Jesus dismisses this idea completely: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned.” That sounds pretty final to me.

So much for superstition. Superstition of any kind is completely ruled out by the Christian faith. End of!

But then Jesus goes on to say something else: “this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” Do you see what I mean about the short straw? It almost sounds as if God deliberately set this man up, so to speak, to suffer in this way. And “I’m glad it wasn’t me,” we might say. Tough luck, mate.

Is that what Jesus meant? I don’t think so. For one thing, those words “so that” could be understood as “with the result that” (there is a difference!). And also, it might suggest that God is a cold and calculating manipulator, which simply isn’t how the Bible as a whole portrays him.

It’s not as if God deliberately picks on certain individuals in order to put them to the test in some special way. No: it’s more that in a world full of suffering, pain and tears there are those who seem to come off worse than most. But even these God may choose to treat as recipients of his special grace and mercy: people in whom “the works of God are displayed”.

Make no mistake, there must have been plenty of other blind people around whom Jesus didn’t heal – just as there were plenty of people with leprosy, or disabilities, or… well, you name it.

It’s true that Jesus worked many wonderful miracles. But his purpose in coming to earth was to usher in the eternal kingdom of God, and when he performed his miracles it wasn’t just (just?!) a way of showing his power and compassion, but a way of giving a glimpse, a faint hint, of what one day will be.

All who have reached out to God in humble faith will be gathered to be with him. Let’s never forget the glorious, luminous, radiant words of Revelation 21:3-4: “They will be his people, and he will be with them and be their God…” As if that’s not wonderful enough, these words follow: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes… “ (can you see it?) … “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain … (can you imagine it?) … “for the old order of things… (that’s blindness and disease and heartbreak and all the rest) … has passed away.”

So that day two thousand years ago – somewhere, presumably, in the vicinity of Jerusalem (John doesn’t even bother to tell us where) – people saw a tiny foretaste of that great future.

What this suggests to us is this… Whoever we are, God has given us a part to play. That part may be fairly easy and undemanding – in which case, never forget that Jesus also said, “Those to whom much is given, of them much will be required” (Luke 12:48) – words designed to make us sit up and take notice.

And if the part we are called on to play is specially hard, may there be consolation in the idea that “the works of God might be displayed” in us.

I think of a teenage girl I know who has developed a condition which may become “life-changing”. It’s possible she will have to radically re-adjust her hopes, ambitions and dreams. This in her teenage years! – just as she’s setting out on life. That thought must be bitterly hard to take.

If it does come to that, I can only pray and trust that she will find a peace within her heart that, in spite of everything, God has her in the palm of his hand and will use her to work his works – and so to give her fulfilment and even joy. 

Concerning this earthly life the French writer Paul Claudel wrote: “Jesus did not come to explain away suffering or remove it. He came to fill it with His presence.”

And what we pray for that girl we can pray too, of course, for every person, known to us or not, who may seem to have “drawn the short straw”.

Will you do that now?

Lord Jesus, thank you for the wonderful way you healed that blind man. I pray that you will draw near today to all who suffer greatly, and, even though you may not heal them, that you will help them to see that the works of God can be displayed in them. Amen.

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